ACP - The setting in a book is sometimes just as important of a character, as the characters themselves. If you were a setting, what would look like?

That’s so true. As a fantasy writer, I am constantly paying attention to setting. I have to make sure the places I create are vivid and seem as though they could be real, so the reader isn’t distracted or lost along the way. This often causes the setting to feel as though it is another character in the story—it has a back-story, a certain appearance, and a unique personality. Think of the world Tolkien created in his Lord of the Rings series. The setting played a major role as a focal point in the plot, a source of motivation for the characters, and a place in which readers could lose themselves. Every setting, especially those in the fantasy genre, plays a significant role and, in many ways, defines the journey just as much as a character does. That being said, I think if I were a setting, I’d have a lot of different aspects—I’d be a whole world, not just a farm or a cityscape. I’d have high mountains, fast rivers, large forests, rolling fields, ancient orchards, old stone towns, and tempestuous oceans. These features would be specific to my beliefs, my personality, my experiences, my way of life. It would be made up smaller pieces that represent moments that have defined me as an individual. In essence, setting is very much its own character. That’s why I am always striving to push myself when it comes to world building. I ask myself questions like, What would make this world more vivid? What would push my readers to their limits on believability? What will make them gasp and smile and tremble as they are taken through the world? And what will they find in my settings that remind them of themselves?Visit Nicole's website